Drying cabinet



June 27, 1967 M. B. GAMER 3,327,404

DRYING CABINET Filed Dec. 29, 1964 f Z4 l J y1- lll .IU ,LLIMH 10 l XII Il :l I 4 11 "i United States Patent O This invention relates to a drying cabinet, and more particularly to a cabinet for air drying items, such as, Wi-gs, which remain stationary while air is circulated about the items in order to remove moisture from the items, and then the moisture laden air is expelled from the cabinet.

Air drying cabinets generally are used for drying many Various items. Air drying cabinets may be divided into two general types, that is, the cabinet in which the item to 'be dried moves through an air stream in order to expose various portions of the item to the air, and those cabinets in which the items to be dried remain stationary. Generally, those cabinets in which the items remain stationary have air circulating around the items in order to dry them.

It is apparent that certain items, such as, wigs, cannot be readily tumbled during a drying operation, but must be dried in that type of cabinet in which the air circulates. Another problem common to drying items, such as, wigs, is that the temperature of the air must be maintained at a certain level. The air must not only be circulated around the items, but the air must be expelled from a drying enclosure. Thus, it is necessary to provide a drying cabinet in which the air is heated and the air circulates within the cabinet and is expelled from the cabinet with the moisture which is picked up by the air during the circulation thereof around the item to be dried. It is a principal object of this invention to provide an improved air drying cabinet construction in which air entering a drying enclosure is heated before it enters the enclosure, and the air within the enclosure is circulated within the enclosure to dry items which are positioned within the drying enclosure.

It is a further object of the instant invention to provide an improved drying cabinet construction which has an exhaust port which communicates directly with a drying enclosure so that air is expelled directly from the drying enclosure as pressure builds up within the drying enclosure with the introduction of heated air, thereby fresh heated air is introduced into the drying enclosure and cool moisture laden air is expelled directly from the drying enclosure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved drying cabinet wherein drying air is heated prior to entrance of air into the cabinet and the temperature of the air is regulated by a thermostat which also controls the flow of drying air into the cabinet as well as circulation of air within the cabinet to cause selectively turbulence in order to effect more efficient drying.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a drying cabinet which includes a timer for controlling the duration of drying to achieve efficiencies in drying of items, such as, wigs, by limiting the drying time.

A still further object of the herein disclosed invention is to provide a simple construction for a drying cabinet so that the drying cabinet may be simply and economically manufactured.

Other objects and uses of the instant invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a perusal of the following specifications in light of the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE l is a front elevation of a drying cabinet embodying the present invention with a pair of doors shown opened in order to show the interior of the drying cabinet;

FIGURE 2 is a front cross sectional view of the cabinet shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side'cross sectional view of the cabinet shown in FIGURE l; and,

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FIGURE 4 is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuit for the cabinet shown in FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawing, a cabinet generally indicated by numeral 10 is shown therein. The cabinet 10 generally includes a drying enclosure 12 with a circulating fan or circulator 14 mounted on the upper portion of the drying enclosure for circulating air within the enclosure, and a fan 16 is connected to the bottom of the drying enclosure to force air into the drying enclosure. A conduit 18 provides an inlet to fan 16 and an electric heating element or heater 20 is mounted in the conduit to heat air prior to its introduction into the drying enclosure. The cabinet 10 includes a conventional thermostat 22 for controlling the temperature within the cabinet as well as the circulation of air and a conventional timer 24 is also included in the cabinet for limiting the operation of the fans and heating element.

The cabinet 10 includes a conventional base 26 which has a wooden back panel or back side 28 mounted thereon. A pair of wooden sides or ends 30 and 32 is mounted on the 'base 26 and fixed to the back side 28. A wooden front lower panel 34 is mounted on the base 26 and is connected to sides 30 and 32. A wooden front upper panel 36 is connected to the side 30 and 32 so that an aperture 38 is defined between the upper and lower panels 34 and 36. A pair of wooden doors 40 and 42 are hingedly connected to the sides 30 and 32, respectively, in order to provide a means for closing the aperture 38.

The drying enclosure 12 has a wooden bottom 44 which is fixed to front panel 34 and rear panel 28 as well as ends 30 and 32. A wooden top 46 is fixed to the upper panel 36 and back 38 as well as sides 30 and 32 to define the drying enclosure. lnasmuch as the drying enclosure is defined by wooden members, it is apparent that the enclosure is economically manufactured and has good insulating properties. It should be noted that the rear panel 28 includes an exhaust port 48 which has an exhaust air conduit 50 connected thereto to carry cool air away from the drying enclosure. The exhaust port 48 is located midway bottom 44 and top 46 as well as midway ends 30 and 32 so that air from the drying enclosure is exhausted through the exhaust port solely at the center of the back of the enclosure.

The fan 16 has an outlet 52 positioned in the bottom 44 and the outlet is located midway the end walls 30 and 32 and adjacent to the rear wall 28. The air inlet conduit 18 extends through an aperture 54 in end wall 32 to provide a conduit for .air from outside the cabinet to the fan 16. As was mentioned above, the heating element 20 is positioned in the conduit 18. The heating element is an electrical coil which heats the air before the air is forced into the drying encl-osure so that all of the air which enters the enclosure has been heated prior to delivery to Vthe enclosure.

Located above the drying enclosure is the circulating fan 14. The circulating fan 14 has an inlet 56 which is connected to an inlet aperture 58 in top 46 approximately midway the lfront panel 36 and the rear panel 28, and the inlet is positioned adjacent to the end wall 30. On the other side of the fan 14, there is an outlet 6@ which opens into aperture 62 which outlet is positioned approximately midway the front panel 36 and the rear panel 38 and the outlet is adjacent to the end 32; so that air moves up along end wall 30 and through aperture 58 to the fan and is exhausted adjacent to the end wall 32 to provide a somewhat circular pattern of movement of air within the drying enclosure.

Mounted on pane-l 36 is a portion of thermostat 22, that is, a temperature selector portion. A sensing portion of the thermostat or bulb 63 is located in the drying enclosure, and the thermostat construction is conventional as was mentioned above. Mounted adjacent to the thermostat is the timer 24, which timer is also well known in its construction, and, as is conventional, the timer may be set for any prescribed time. The timer and the thermostat are electrically connected in series as may be seen in FIGURE 4.

Considering FIGURE 4 in greater detail, it may be seen that the timer 24 and the thermostat 22 are connected in series to a plug 64, which may be connected to any convenient source of electrical energyso that the timer and the thermostat control the operation of the drying cabinet. It may be seen that the fan 14 is connected in parallel with the fan 16 and a heater 20, so that all of the elements are operative simultaneously.

In order to dry items in the herein disclosed cabinet, it is obvious that the items must be placed in the drying enclosure and supported by some means to allow air to circulate around the items. A rack, such as, that generally indicated by numeral 66, having a plurality of wigs 68 mounted thereon is positioned within the `drying enclosure 12. It is obvious that any number of wigs may be mounted on any conventional type of rack, and the present rack and wigs are shown solely for purposes of illustration. The doors 40 and 42 are then closed to seal the enclosure. The thermostat 22 Vis adjusted to a desired temperature and the timer 24 is set for a prescribed time. The timer also acts as an on-ot switch for the cabinet.

When the plug is energized, the fan 16 operates to draw outside air in through the aperture 54 and along conduit 18. The air flowing through the conduit is heated by coil 20, and then it is forced into the drying enclosure 12 through aperture 52. It should be noted that simultaneous with the operation of fan 16, the circulator 14 is also in operation which circulator takes in air through aperture 58 along conduit 56 and pushes the air out through aperture 62. vInasmuch as aperture 58 is adjacent to end wall 30 and aperture 62 is adjacent to end yWall 32, the air within the drying enclosure moves about in a pattern along the outermost portion of the drying enclosure. Since the fan 16 is continuously forcing air into the drying .enclosure, the pressure within the drying enclosure increases, and air is expelled from the drying enclosure through exhaust port 48 which is midway between the top and bottom, and the ends of the enclosure. Inasmuch as the air is circulating along the outer edges of the drying enclosure, a generally spiral air flow pattern is set up within the drying enclosure to circulate around the wigs 68 to remove moisture therefrom, so that cool moisture laden air is expelled through the exhaust port. This particular circulation of air promotes a more efficient system of drying of the wigs 68. The temperature within the drying cabinet is controlled by the thermostat so that the temperature within the drying cabinet does not become too great and thus damage the wigs being dried. When the temperature exceeds a prescribed tmeperature, 'the thermostat opens the circuit to the fans and the heating elemetn to lallow the air within the drying cabinet to become quiet, and the air is cooled by evaporation from the Wigs. This evaporation causes the air to cool rapidly, so that when the temperature is lowered to a prescribed temperature, the circuit is then closed. Closing of the circuit causes the heater and fans to be energized at the same time in order to introduce more heated air into the drying chamber and to expel the moisture laden air through the exhaust port. It should be noted that the alternate stopping and starting o'f the two fans creates turbulence within the drying chamber which has a particularly beneicial effect on the `drying of the wigs. It may be -appreciated that if the fans were allowed to go continuously and only the heater were de-energ'ued, a steady State flow would be elTected within the drying enclosure and certain parts of the 'wigs may not be dried evenly. By the alternate stopping and starting of the fans due to the changes in temperature, turbulence is set up within the drying enclosure to produce an effect similar to tumbling of items as in a tumbler type dryer. It is obvious that the timer shuts off the operation of the drying cabinet when a prescribed time has elapsed to end the drying process. Although a specific embodiment of the instant invention has been shown and described in detail above, it is submitted that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and changes in the construction shown herein without departing from the lspirit and scope of the present invention. It is to be expressly understood that the present invention is limited only by the appended claims and the subject disclosure is solelyy illustrative.

What is claimed is:

1. A drying cabinet comprising, in combination, a drying enclosure having an exhaust port communicating directly with the interior of the drying enclosure, a fan connected to the drying enclosure for forcing air into said enclosure in the bottom of said enclosure, a heater for heating air prior to entry of the air into the drying enclosure, a circulating fan mounted above the drying enclosure having an inlet adjacent to one side of the drying enclosure and an outlet adjacent to the opposite side of the drying enclosure, and a thermostat connected to the enclosure and electrically connected to the fan and the circulating fan for controlling the temperature within the drying enclosure and simultaneously controlling the operation of the fan and the circulating fan, whereby heated air is continuously forced into said drying enclosure by the fan creating a positive pressure therein and causing said air to exit through said exhaust port while said circulating fan simultaneously recirculates the air remainingk in said enclosure, said thermostat creating periodic turbulence within said drying enclosure by simultaneously and intermittently starting and stopping said fan and circulating fan.

2. A drying cabinet comprising, in combination, a drying enclosure including a loading aperture having a door mounted adjacent to the aperture for selectively closing the aperture, said drying enclosure having a pair of sides forming opposite ends of the enclosure and having a top and a bottom, said drying enclosure having a side opposite the aperture and having an exhaust port positioned an equal distance from the ends and from the top and bottom, a fan connected to the enclosure and having a yfan outlet positioned in the bottom of the enclosure adjacent to the side opposite the aperture and being substantially equidistantly spaced from the ends, an inlet conduit connected to the fan, an electric heater mounted in the inlet conduit to heat air prior to delivery of the air into the drying enclosure, a circulating fan mounted on the top of said drying enclosure and having an inlet adjacent to one end of the enclosure to circulate air within the drying enclosure, a thermostat electrically connected to and coni trolling the heater, fan and circulating fan in order to maintain a prescribed temperature level within the drying enclosure and to cause the air in the drying enclosure to move intermittently, and a timer electrically connected to the heater, fan and circulating fan to control the operation ofthe drying cabinet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,408,456 3/1922 Harrison 34-169 X 1,527,193 2/1925 Iudelson 34-29 1,886,286 11/1932 Martin 34-53 X 2,040,227 5/ 1936 Wernersson 34-223 2,308,332 1/1943 Irwin et al. 34--54 2,391,195 12/1945 Ross et al 34-48 X 2,495,612 1/1950 Trimble 34--219 X 3,086,533 4/1963 Tonton 34-30` X FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

DONLEY I. STOCKING, A. D. HERRMANN,

Assistant Examiners. 

1. A DRYING CABINET COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A DRYING ENCLOSURE HAVING AN EXHAUST PORT COMMUNICATING DIRECTLY WITH THE INTERIOR OF THE DRYING ENCLOSURE, A FAN CONNECTED TO THE DRYING ENCLOSURE FOR FORCING AIR INTO SAID ENCLOSURE IN THE BOTTOM OF ENCLOSURE, A HEATER FOR HEATING AIR PRIOR TO ENTRY OF THE AIR INTO THE DRYING ENCLOSURE, A CIRCULATING FAN MOUNTED ABOVE THE DRYING ENCLOSURE HAVING AN INLET ADJACENT TO ONE SIDE OF THE DRYING ENCLOSURE AND AN OUTLET ADJACENT TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE DRYING ENCLOSURE, AND A THERMOSTAT CONNECTED TO THE ENCLOSURE AND ELECTRICALLY CONNECTED TO THE FAN AND THE CIRCULATING FAN FOR CONTROLLING THE TEMPERATURE WITHIN THE DRYING ENCLOSURE AND SIMULTANEOUSLY CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF THE FAN AND THE CIRCULATING FAN, WHEREBY HEATED AIR IS CONTINUOSULY FORCED INTO SAID DRYING ENCLOSURE BY THE FAN CREATING A POSITIVE PRESSURE THEREIN AND CAUSING SAID AIR TO EXIT THROUGH SAID EXHAUST PORT WHILE SAID CIRCULATING FAN SIMULTANEOUSLY RECIRCULATES THE AIR REMAINING IN SAID ENCLOSURE, SAID THERMOSTAT CREATING PERIODIC TURBULENCE WITHIN SAID DRYING ENCLOSURE BY SIMULTANEOUSLY AND INTERMITTENTLY STARTING AND STOPPING SAID FAN AD CIRCULATING FAN. 